Making Money in Voice-Overs, 2nd Edition (With Cd): Winning Strategies to a Successful Career in TV, Commercials Radio and Animation (Book & CD) Review

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(More customer reviews)The massive amount of helpful information in this book is marred by only two things:
o It desperately needs some copy editing to remove the sentence fragments and other "word-processing glitches," and
o The discussions of technology need to be reviewed by someone with a firmer grasp of how such things actually work.
Because of this, I would give it 4-1/2 stars instead of 5 if that rating were available.
In the big picture, however, these are minor quibbles with a book that otherwise covers a lot of ground and answers a lot of questions that aspiring voice actors would have. It provides an in-depth look at the voice-over business (with particular focus on Los Angeles) from the perspective of a busy, in-demand performer who has paid enough dues to know what she's talking about, and because it is fairly new it covers recent developments that older books omit. Certainly well worth the modest investment for anyone wanting to know more about this business.

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The best-selling classic—now includes a bonus CD with examples and exercises!All across the country, there is work in voice-overs. Now the classic guide to getting hired in this lucrative field has been completely revised and updated to reflect today's marketplace. A bonus audio CD adds voice-over samples and helpful exercises for television, commercials, and animation. From self-assessments to creating a demo to preparing for recording sessions, Making Money in Voice-Overs is the complete guide, packed with insider tips, strategies, and dos and don'ts that will help both beginners and experienced professionals.

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I'll Be in My Trailer: The Creative Wars Between Directors and Actors Review

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(More customer reviews)Actors... can't live with them, can't fire them. Of course, actors are very special people. And of course, the main key to dealing with them is communication. However, finding the RIGHT way to communicate is often very difficult, because the way a director, writer or a producer thinks is very different from how the mind of an actor sees the creative process. (they also differ greatly from each other, but that's a whole different ballgame)
John Badham, director of some huge hits (Saturday Night Fever, Stakeout, War Games) tries to build bridges in this book, even though the title leads one to believe the tone will be fairly belligerent. On the contrary, while there are some stories about extremely bad behaviour here, Badham is being very constructive. In many cases, he puts the blame for an incident squarely on his own shoulders, even when an objective observer would think he did nothing wrong. His main goal is to facilitate the communication between director and actor, by explaining how to give direction in a way that actors can actually use. Badham himself uses the `as if'-technique (i.e. play this scene as if you got to catch the last train) to put actors in the right frame of mind. However, this approach isn't right for everyone (some actors DO want result-oriented direction), and Badham duly notes alternative approaches.
The book also provides a ton of helpful hints for almost all of the problems that can crop up on a set, acting-wise and actor-wise. When dealing with an addict, the only option is tough love. When some actors misbehave just for the fun of it or to flaunt their own power, a swift and just retribution is in order - except when you're dealing with real stars, who are beyond anyone's power to control.
The book also contains lots of interviews with actors, directors and producers who provide insights from all sides of the `war'. There's a lot of on-set anecdotes about Travolta (Saturday Night Fever) and Richard Dreyfuss, among others, and the interviewees include both huge stars, television directors, well-known actors who never made it to the A-list, and producers. The book is completely succesful at what it sets out to do, though of course the problems will remain. But now at least, there's some real help out there for directors struggling to get their cast under control.

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